2 Hosp's For The Price of 1 - I'm really enjoying my 'new' homemade Crosman 1389

1st the deed itself: I just nailed 2 female hosps w/ one shot from my 1389 Backpacker. Head shot on the 1st, the same pellet hit the pavement and ricocheted into the chest of another female hosp about a foot away. Both DRT.

These are Hosps: a pest / invasive avian species. Aka English Sparrows.

http://www.sialis.org/hospphotos.htm

https://www.loyalpest.com/pest-info/birds/house-sparrow/#:~:text=House%20Sparrows%20in%20Central%20and%20Eastern%20Virginia%20Sparrows,can%20carry%20pathogens%20that%20are%20harmful%20to%20humans.

https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/wildlife-nature-environment/controlling-house-sparrows/

Backstory: Anyone ever order anything from https://mellonair.myfreesites.net ? That's Charles Mellon's website: aka MellonAir.

Charles has the best prices of anyone in the custom parts biz for air guns. He does GREAT work, bar none. There is one tiny little catch though, that has been going on since he started up a decade or more ago. Wait Time: his home page says "Most orders will go out in 7-10 days." That's business days. Up to 2 weeks in other words. W/ the medical crisis going on, the wait time for his parts has increased markedly.

Halfway through January 2021, I ordered a 12 inch barrel for my flat topped Crosman 1377 from him. I had the intention of making my 1377 more backyard friendly.As we all know, flat topped 1377's / 1322's shoot LOUD. At the same time I ordered a 5.75 inch slim LDC from Geo Schoonmaker of Airgun Universe. (Unfortunately, Geo is now out of the custom parts business ... too bad, his prices were outstanding too).

My LDC arrived in a week; but, I had to wait 2 month's for my barrel to get to me. Mid March was when I got it.

By that time I already had a backyard friendly .177, a Winchester 1977XS w/ 1 of Geo's LDC's on it, my review of that is: https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/winchester-1977xs-velocity-and-accuracy-testing-ggg/?view=all#post-962795

Anyway, after the 2nd recurring dream of putting the barrel and LDC on my 1377, I figured it was time for me to obey my subconscious and get off of my lazy butt and do it. This was the middle of April.

Charles also crowned the new barrel and while re-sighting it in w/ my NcStar 2.5X30 for 10 yards at my inside range to start, found I was easily shooting sub half inch groups. Then I put the LDC on and MAN did that thing now shoot QUIET!

I sighted it in at 20 yards outside. That flat topped 1377 was about to become a VERY wicked backyard shooter. So I thought.....

My flat topped 1377 w/ its new 12 inch barrel and 5.75 inch LDC turned out to be a tad muzzle heavy for my taste. It was GREAT for bench resting; but, not so great w/ a two handed Weaver grip for hunting.

No biggie. On the 22nd of April I ordered a #1399 shoulder stock from Crosman to make it a makeshift 1389. Again, as we all know, Crosman a decade or so ago used to sell its 1389 / 2289 Backpackers w/ a 12 inch barrel. Something about the volume inside a 12 inch .177 barrel being equal to the air pressure inside an OEM valve, as I recall.

Shoulder stock arrived on April 27th. I put it on, then mounted my Tasco 3-7X20mm on the steel breech, then sighted it in at a preliminary 10 yards using Crosman 7.9 gr CPHP's. Sub half inch groups were again the norm. Just like the BRing I did w/ it.

Yesterday, I shot my 1st male hosp off my birdfeeder w/ it. I was considering nailing this rather pesky squirrel too. Trouble is, my neighbors tend to make pets of the local squirrels. It would likely be missed. Who am I to kill someones 'pet' squirrel?

Anyway, I now have a homemade, scoped Crosman 1389 w/ an LDC for quiet shots. One male hosp yesterday and 2 female hosps today. So far.

As the days go by, I will likely be adding to this thread. There are still around 2 dozen hosp's in the neighborhood. And pigeons, etc.


 
At the risk of sounding stupid, what is a HOSP (other than an abbreviation of hospital)? Tried Googling it but just gave me "hospital".

My bad, I'm the one who is stupid for not adding the following links to the OP ... http://www.sialis.org/hospphotos.htm .

Hosp is short for 'House Sparrow'. Hosps, being a pest / invasive species. Aka English Sparrows.

https://www.loyalpest.com/pest-info/birds/house-sparrow/#:~:text=House%20Sparrows%20in%20Central%20and%20Eastern%20Virginia%20Sparrows,can%20carry%20pathogens%20that%20are%20harmful%20to%20humans.
 
At the risk of sounding stupid, what is a HOSP (other than an abbreviation of hospital)? Tried Googling it but just gave me "hospital".




A few acronyms for you Most of us have them all memorized by now. ;^) Not but sounds good anyway.

Shamelessly stolen from GTA:

AA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Air Arms

AFAIK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As Far As I Know

AG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Air Gun

AGD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Airgun Depot

AGF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Air Gun Fever

AO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adjustable Objective (Scope)

AOA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Airguns Of Arizona

Bandit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Raccoon

BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ballistic Coefficient

BIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brother-In-Law

Bisco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bottle Disco (Discovery)

BP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bullpup

BPHP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Benjamin Premier Hollow Point

BR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bench Rest

BTW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By The Way

Bugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bunny or Rabbit

Bushy Tailed Tree Rat . . . . .Squirrel

CCW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carrying a Concealed Weapon

CDT Trigger . . . . . . . . . . . . CharlieDaTuna Trigger (Gooood Stuff)

CF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carbon Fiber

Chipper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chipmunk

Chrony. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chronograph

CLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cleaner, Lubricant, Preservative

CONUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Continental US

CP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Center Point Scope or Crosman Premiers

CCP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Concealed Carry Permit

CPHP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crosman Premier Hollow Point

C-Rat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Opossum (Possum)

CTC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Center To Center

DAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sheridan

Disco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Benjamin Discovery Air Rifle

Diss (ing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disrespect or Disrespecting

DPV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disco Power Valve

DRT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dead Right There

EDC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Every Day Carry

ETA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Estimated Time of Arrival

FAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fire Arm Certificate

FC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feral Cat

FFP SFP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . First Focal Point Second Focal Point

FPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feet Per Second

Flying Rat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starling (Flying Rat is also known as being a pigeon)

FPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Foot Pounds of Energy

FT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Field Targets or Flat Top (piston)

FWIW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . For What It’s Worth

Grinner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Opossum (Possum)

GTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gateway To Airguns (This is who we are.)

GF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Girl Friend

HND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Have a Nice Day

HO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hunter Orange

HOSP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .House Sparrow

HPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High Pressure Air

HS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Hammer Spring

IIRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .If I Remember Correctly or If I Really Cared

IMHO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .In My Humble Opinion or In My Honest Opinion

Jack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Rabbit

JMO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Just My Opinion

LDC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lead Dust Collector

LEO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Law Enforcement Officer

LOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laugh Out Loud (also Lots Of Luck)

LOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Length Of Pull

LRF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Laser Range Finder

LWH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Light Weight Hammer

MIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A unit of length equal to 0.001 inches Mother-In-Law also

MOA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Minute Of Angle

Mods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Moderators or Modifications

MM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mike Melick of Flying Dragons Air Rifles

MOSH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Minute Of Squirrels Head

Mrod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Benjamin Marauder Air Rifle

MSP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multi-Stroke Pumper

Munk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chipmunk

NP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nitro Piston Pellet rifle that gets its power from Nitrogen compression

NSNM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No Shots No Misses

NUTTER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Squirrel

OP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Original Poster (Person originating the thread)

PA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pyramyd Air

PB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Powder Burner (Fire Arm)

PCP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PreCharged Pneumatic (Air Rifle)

PETA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .People Eating Tasty Animals

Pics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pictures

PMO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Postal Money Order

PMPCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poor Man’s PCP

POI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Point Of Impact-

PPL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . People

PRod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Benjamin Marauder Air Pistol

PSI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pounds per Square Inch

RMA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Return Merchandise Authorization

ROFL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rolling On the Floor Laughing

RSII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rainstorm 2

RVA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rear Velocity Adjuster

SF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Side Focus (as apposed to AO) when talking about scope attributes

Silly Wets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Silhouette

Song Dog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coyote

Springer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pellet rifle that gets it power from spring compression

SPF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sold Pending Funds

SRod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Synthetic Marauder

SSP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Single-Stroke Pumper

SWMBO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . She Who Must Be Obeyed

TCB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Taking Care of Business

TMI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Too Much Information

TP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Transfer Port

Tree Rat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Squirrel

TYD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .To Your Door

WFO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wide Freaking Open

Whistle Pig. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ground Hog (GHog)

Whistle Dog . . . . . . . . . . . . Prairie Dog

Yellow Bill or Beak. . . . . . . .Starling

Yote. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coyote

YMMV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Your Mileage May Vary

YRMV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Your Results May Vary
 
I just nailed another male hosp w/ my 1389. Good thing I don't carve notches in the stock. At this rate I'd have to order another stock in a few weeks. 

Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey, I'm gonna get you, too
Another one bites the dust

Edit - Later in the day I could have gotten 1 out of 2 female hosps that were around. Maybe even both of them. I passed them up. Trouble was, there were a half dozen mourning doves around my bird feeder too. I've been feeding a flock of 8 mourning doves and 6 white wing doves for the past couple of years. I don't want to scare off my 'pets' so to speak by bagging several hosps daily. 1 a day is fine.
 
I just nailed another female hosp. I haven't seen many hosp's around the last few days. We've had a lot of rain lately. I saw a couple of female cowbirds yesterday. I don't care for them since they're brood parasites. But, cowbirds are native birds and are thus protected by the federal Migratory Bird Act.

Edit - Just nailed another female hosp. Unfortunately, a mourning dove was a witness. I hate shooting the pests in front of the doves. *Sighs*
 
I just nailed a female hosp at my bird feeder. I almost didn't take the shot thinking it might be a finch. So I checked my handy dandy ID link to make sure before shooting it.

http://www.sialis.org/otherbrownbirds.htm

There's another female and a male hosp around today. I'm going to see if I can get them both.

Edit - I just nailed the 2nd female hosp too. 

2nd Edit - I just nailed a 3rd female hosp. There are 2 male hosp's flying around back there now too.
 
I just nailed a male hosp off of my backyard bird feeder. Pickings have been slim lately around my neck of the woods. Plenty of hosps around; but, they have all been going to the feeder on my front porch. I can't do any shooting there because of my neighbors.

Meanwhile, a mockingbird has been pecking at my tomatoes in the backyard. Can't shoot that one. It's protected and anyway they eat ants. Mockingbirds are a mixed blessing. My backyard has less ants in it now that it has ever been; but, w/ the heatwave I have a thirsty mockingbird to contend w/.

To that end, I ordered a birdbath from Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Best-Choice-Products-Outdoor-Rustic-Pedestal-Bird-Bath-Accent-for-Garden-Yard-w-Fleur-de-Lis-Accents-Copper/558203846?comm-msg-vehicle=EMAIL&comm-msg-id=50477027-ce21-4850-b1e4-6755a9264e42

That should take care of the problem AND draw many more pests from the front yard to the back yard. Win-Win!